HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A deadly house fire that killed two sisters in their Hollywood home last Wednesday is now being investigated as a crime. At a police commission meeting on Tuesday morning, Los Angeles police tied the fire to others that burned in the same area.
“The fire was determined to be arson,” officials said at the police commission meeting. “Further investigation revealed that multiple additional fires were reported in close proximity during the same early morning time period, as well as a similar fire reported in the area in late January.”
According to a GoFundMe created to help pay for funeral services and fire damage, the Feb. 4 blaze on North Vista Del Mar Avenue claimed the lives of two sisters — 76-year-old Chelo and 82-year-old Yola. Family members told Eyewitness News they’ve lived in the home since the 1970s.
“I mean, it’s one thing having your property destroyed, but then it’s murder,” said Anna, a woman who owns the property next door to the home that burned. “Basically, you murdered those two women.”
Yola moved in with Chelo to become her full-time caretaker after Chelo had emergency hip surgery, the family wrote in the GoFundMe. Tragically, the family says video briefly shows Chelo on the front porch as flames engulfed the home, saying, “I need to go back and get my sister.” Neither siter emerged from the home after that.
Chelo was pronounced dead at the scene, and Yola later died at the hospital, according to the GoFundMe.
“You can be destructive with property,” Anna said. “That’s one thing. That’s hard enough to take. But then, at two in the morning, to come and light up a house, knowing full-well there’s a 99.9% [ chance ] there’s people living in there. That’s just pure evil.”
The family says Chelo’s beloved dog, Coco, is missing after the fire, but they are hopeful she may have run to safety. They’re asking the neighborhood to keep an eye out.
Police say the investigation remains ongoing while detectives continue canvassing and reviewing evidence as it becomes available. If you have any information, you are urged to contact police.